3rd Mediterranean Symposium and 1st European Conference Report
I had the pleasure of presenting and attending the third Mediterranean Symposium and 1st European Conference held at the University of Barcelona in October 2024. Last year I also took part in the second Mediterranean symposium held in Jerusalem and as a result applied again this year. As Poland is not quite on the Mediterranean the organizers have decided to include the first European Conference so that IATEFL Poland and APPI Portugal could be included.
This day and a half conference featured 15 speakers representing Teacher Associations from TESOL Spain, ELT Council Malta, TESOL France, ELTA Albania, TESOL Turkiye, IATEFL Poland, APPI Portugal, ETAI Israel, TESOL Greece, ELTA Serbia, HUPE Croatia, Nile TESOL and TESOL Italy.
The talks brought together many committee members from their respective teacher associations and gave us a great opportunity to reconnect and network with friends while sharing ideas and future plans during the smaller, more intimate event. It was great to see many old friends and actually have time to talk. Next year, the event will take place in Malta along with the annual Malta Teachers’ Conference. We have already penciled in 2026 to bring the conference to Poland, which I’m excited about, giving Polish teachers a chance to attend a new tradition which was started and maintained by TESOL Spain. We hope that you join us in the future and add the 4th Mediterranean Symposium and 2nd European Conference to your calendars for next year.
Rob Howard
IATEFL Poland President